1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a lever operating device used for a vehicle.
2. Related Art
In general, a pair of stalk switch devices, which are examples of lever operating devices, are provided on the left and right sides of a case fixed to a steering column to form a combination switch. A user can tilt each of the stalk switch devices in a desired direction to perform, for example, an operation of switching the beam position of a headlamp, a turn signal switching operation, and a wiper switching operation. For example, in the case of a stalk switch device in which an operating lever is tilted substantially in the vertical direction to perform a turn signal operation, the operating lever is tilted substantially in the front-rear direction to perform an operation of switching the beam position of a head lamp (switching between a low beam and a high beam) or a passing operation.
The general structure of the stalk switch device will be described below. A base portion of the operating lever is rotatably connected to a lever support (holder), and the operating lever can be tilted with respect to the lever support in a predetermined operating surface (first operating surface) In addition, the lever support is rotatably connected to a housing (first and second cases), which is a stator member, and the operating lever and the lever support can be integrally tilted in another operating surface (second operating surface) that is substantially orthogonal to the first operating surface. That is, the rotating axis of the operating lever with respect to the lever support is substantially orthogonal to that of the operating lever and the lever support with respect to the housing, and the operating lever can be tilted in two directions that are substantially orthogonal to each other. A circuit board is fixed to the housing so as to extend substantially in parallel to the second operating surface, and two sets of contact patterns are formed on the circuit board. In addition, a pair of moving bodies (sliding-element supporting members) are slidably provided on the circuit board, and sliding elements are attached to the moving bodies. When the operating lever is tilted in the first or second operating surface, one of the moving bodies is driven and slides on the circuit board. In this way, a contact point switching operation is performed by variation in the position of the moving body relative to the circuit board (for example, see JP-A-2001-6494).
However, in the above-mentioned lever operating device according to the related art, the sliding elements attached to the moving bodies slide on the contact pattern of the circuit board, thereby switching the contact points. Therefore, when the operating lever is frequently tilted, the contact pattern may be worn away over time, or conduction defects may occur due to the oxidation or sulfurization of the contact pattern. In addition, two sets of contact switching mechanism each having a sliding element and a contact pattern are provided. One contact switching mechanism is operated by the tilting of the operating lever in the first operating surface, and the other contact switching mechanism is operated by the tilting of the operating lever in the second operating surface. Therefore, the number of components of the contact switching mechanisms is increased, and a large space is needed to arrange the components.